Aircraft



Oct. 29, 1935. P. M. LEWIS ET AL AIRCRAFT Filed April 20, less S SheetS-Sheet 1 Oct. 29, 1935. P. M. LEWIS ET AL 0 AIRCRAFT 7 Filed April 20, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 57 5- E m MZf'M AS Patented Oct. 29, 1935 r 2,018,730

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE AIRCRAFT Paul M. Lewis and Fred Landgraf, Denver. 0010., assignors to Lewis-American Airways, Inc., a corporation of Colorado Application April '20, 1933, Serial No. 666,947 9. Claims. (01.244-16) This invention relates to an improved air craft trating an alternate method for adjusting the acand more particularly to improved lifting and tlon of the blades.

propelling surfaces for air craft. Fig. 7 is a longitudinal section through the The principal object of the invention is to proform of Fig. .6, taken onthe line 'l-'l, Fig. 6. vide rotatably mounted blades or wings for air- Fig. .8 is a horizontal section'taken on the line 6 craft which can be regulated while in use, to exert 8--8, Fig. 7. either or both a lifting and propelling action. The invention embodies one or more pairs of Another object of the invention is to provide rotatably mounted wings or blades which may be a simple and eflicient mechanism which will aumounted in any desired position on any desired 10: tomatically change the pitch of rotating wings style or type of air craft. One method of em- 10'- or blades during their revolution so that the asploying the present invention is illustrated in Fig. cending blades will have a different effect than -1, in which a fuselage is indicated at l0, prothe descending blades. vided with upwardly-extending, outwardly-flar- A further object of the invention is to provide ing struts I I. The struts support a series of pairs an efllcient and positive manual control for the of rotating blades I2 and I2 which replace the 1 5 automatic pitch changing mechanism so that the usual air plane wings. A horizontal control shaft pitch of the blades to which the automatic mech- [4 extends between the hub portions of the front anism operates can be varied at the will of the pairs of blades and a similar control shaft l4 operator. extends between the hub portions of the rear A still further object of the invention is to eiilpairs. The control shafts l4 and I4 are oper- 20 ciently incorporate the above type of rotating ated from suitable controls in the fuselage l0 blades with an aircraft. through the medium of connecting rods 45 ex- Other objects and advantages reside in the tending from operating levers 46. detail construction of the invention, which is de- The hub construction is such that when the signed for simplicity, economy, and efficiency. forward operating lever 46 is forced upwardly, 25 These will become more apparent from the 101- as illustrated in Fig. 1, the downwardly moving lowing description. blades will assume a relatively horizontal posi- In the following detailed description of the intion and the upwardly moving blades will assume vention reference is had to the accompanying a relatively vertical position. These relative drawings which form a part hereof. Like nupositions will be maintained during the rotation 80 merals refer to like parts in all views of the drawof the blades so that each blade as it passes the ings and throughout the description. bottom point will turn toward the vertical and In the drawings:--- as it passes the top point will turn toward the Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an air horizontal. The blades may be rotated through craft, in which the invention is embodied, as it any desired transmission device from a suitable 35 would appear in flight. motive power.

Fig. 2 is a detail view looking downwardly on Each pair of blades is similar in construction a set of the blades as they pass the uppermost and for convenience in description, the downpoint of their revolution or vertical position. wardly moving blades will be designated by the Fig. 3 is an end view of the rotating blades as numeral l2 and the upwardly moving blades by they would appear when in the horizontal posithe numeral l2. Each pair of blades l2 and I2 tion with their pitch adjusted for both lifting and is mounted one. common blade shaft l3 in planes propelling. at .right angles to each other.

Fig. 4 is a similar view with the blades as they The preferred construction for causing the H would appear when adjusted exclusively for problades to assume their relative positions during 4' pelling. rotation is illustrated in detail in Figs. 3, 4, and

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the hub portion of one 5. In this construction, the blade shaft l3 of set of the blades. In this view the blades are adeach "pair of blades passes through a pair of justed as shown in Fig. 3. spaced apart bearings 15 in a rotating bracket Fig. .6 is a front view of the hub portion Iillusmember. .16 which is secured :on the extremity of 50' a drive shaft II. If two pairs of blades are employed, as illustrated, one of the brackets I6 will be secured on each extremity of each drive shaft I I. The drive shaft may be driven in any desired manner. As illustrated, it is driven through a pair of bevel gears I8 from the extremity of a power shaft I9 extending through the strut II from the fuselage. It can be readily seen that as the drive shaft I'I rotates, it will rotate the brackets I6 and, through the: bearings I5, will swing the blades I2 in a vertical plane about the axis of the drive shaft in a circular arc.

A pair of studs 20 project oppositely outward from the middle of the blade shaft I3 to engage the furcations of a bifurcated yoke. 2!. Thus, when the blade shaft is horizontal, it can be rotated by swinging the yoke 2I in a vertical plane to change the angle of incidence or pitch of.the

blades I2 and I2. The yoke is provided with an outwardly extending stem'22 which is rotatably mounted in a bearing or journal 23 on the extremity of the blade control shaft I4. Thus, as the control shaft I4 is rotated, it will swing the yoke 2| vertically to change the blade angle. Since the control shafts I4 are horizontal and fixed to the journals 23 theywill, of'course, swing the Yokes 2| only in vertical planes. As before stated, the blades I2 and I2. are mounted on the blade shaft at right angles to each other. The yoke studs 20 are so positioned that the axis of the journal 23 will bisect the angle, between the blades as illustrated; On the forward pair. of blades the journals 23 will project forwardly from the forward edge of the blades and on the rear pair the journals will project rearwardly between the rear edges of the blades. The journals have a range of vertical angular movement of approximately 45 as indicated by the angle A, Fig. 3.

With this construction, if the forward journals are adjusted to an upward angle of 45, the downwardly moving blade I2 on reaching the horizontal position will be substantially horizontal while the upwardly moving blade will be substantially vertical. If we drop the journals, say to an angle of 30, the rear edge of the downwardly moving blade will be raised and the lower edge of the upwardly moving blade will be swung rearwardly, as illustrated in Fig. 3.

It can be seen that the axis of the yoke studs 20 swings in a plane oblique to the plane of rotation of the blades owing to the angular position of the journals 23. When the blades are horizontal, the yoke axis is of course at its greatest angularity and a maximum twist is imparted to the blades. When the blades are vertical the yoke axis lies in the plane of rotation regardless of the angle of the journal 23 so that no angularity is imparted to the blade shaft and both blades will project at an angle of 45 to the plane of rotation as shown in Fig. 2. As the vertical position of Fig. 2 is passed the formerly vertical blade will assume the horizontal position while the formerly horizontal blade will assume the vertical position.

When the journal is in the horizontal position, both blades will be at a 45 angle and will maintain this angle during their entire revolution so as to exert only a propelling action. If the journal is at any other angle within the angle A", the downwardly moving blade will always bemore horizontal than the upwardly moving blade so as to exert a combined lifting and propelling action on the downwardly moving side, and a propelling action only on the upwardly moving side. If moved to the extreme 45 position, the downwardly moving blade will exert only a lifting action and the upwardly moving blade no action whatsoever.

A mechanism for controlling the angular movement of the blades from the drive shaft side 5 thereof is illustrated in Figs. 6, '7 and 8. In this construction, the blade shaft I3 is mounted in spaced apart bearings 25 on the extremities of a forked bracket member 26 that is secured on the extremity of a tubular drive shaft 21. The l0 drive shaft 21 is mounted in suitable bearings 28 and 29, and may be driven in any desired manner as from a bevel gear 30. In-this form, the blade shaft I3 is separated at its middle and the two parts are mounted in a frame III. A 15 yoke 32 is pivoted on oppositely-positioned, axial- '1y-aligned yoke pins 33 on the sides of the frame 3|. This yoke operates similarly to the formerly described yoke 2I in that any vertical angular position of the yoke will serve to turn the blade 20 shaft I3 as the blades when they are in the horizontal position.

The yoke is swung vertically by means of a rack lever 34. One extremity of the lever 34 extends to a rotatable connection with the yoke 25 and the other extremity is provided with a bevel gear segment 35 which meshes with a bevel pinion 36. Intermediate its extremities, the rack lever 34 is pivoted on a pin 31 in a fork 38 formed on the extremity of a stationary tubular shaft 30 39 which passes within the drive shaft 21. The shaft 39 is locked in any desired manner such as to the bearing 29 by a set screw 40 so that it can not rotate with the tubular shaft 21 and so 7 that it will always maintain the rack lever 34 35 in a vertical plane. The pinion 36 is mounted on the, extremity of a control shaft 4|, extending through the shaft 39 to any'desired manual control apparatus such as the crank 42.

It can be readily seen that as the crank 42 is 4.0' rotated, the yoke 32 will be swung upwardly or downwardly so as to position the yoke 32 at any desired angle to control the rotating blades I2.

It is desired to call particular attention to the unusual action of the present construction. The 45 downwardly moving blades may replace the wings or planes of the usual airplane, as shown in Fig. 1. 7 They diiIer from the usual planes in that they are inclined downwardly at the front, whereas the usual planes are inclined upwardly. 50 This upward incline of the usual planes places them on what might be termed an upward incline in the air and the motive power must pull the craft up this incline. With the present construction, however, the planes are upon a virtual down- 55 ward incline in the air, as indicated by the broken line B-B, Fig. 3. .Gravity is always tending to pull the planes down this incline; and if the planes were fixed to the aircraft would also pull the craft down. V A

In the present construction, however, the downward pull of. gravity is more than offset by the power driven downward movement of the planes which maintains the aircraft at an even level and allows the pull of gravity to propel 65 the plane forwardly owing to the downward incline of the plane surfaces. Therefore the action of gravity is employed for driving the present plane whereas in the usual conventional plane it acts to resist the motion thereof. 7c

The particular installation of the rotating blades in Fig. 1 employs a'rudder 43 for horizontal guiding and ailerons 44 for lifting or lowering the tail of the ship. The lift or descent of the ship isigovernedibythe setting of. the angle of 75- the Journals 23' so as" to vary the relation be-' tween lift and propulsion of the wings l2. The installation of Fig. 1 is simply illustrative since the rotating blades l2 could be employed in any desired installation. They would be valuable as lifting propellers on the conventional airplanes and could be installed on dirigibles for creating both lift and propulsion.

While the blades l2 and I2 have been described as being positioned at angle of to each other, it is to be understood that they are not limited to this exact angle. In some installations it might be desirable to obtain a greater lifting component than driving or vice versa and the relative angle would be arranged accordingly.

While a specific form of the improvement has been described and illustrated herein, it is desired to be understood that the same may be varied, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired secured by Letters Patent is:-

1. A propelling mechanism for aircraft comprising: a drive shaft; a bearing member secured on the extremity of said drive shaft; bearings carried by said member, the axes of said bearings being in alignment and intersecting the axes of said shaft at 90"; a blade shaft mounted in said bearing; a blade-like member carried on each extremity of said blade shaft and extending longitudinally therefrom, said blade-like members being positioned at an angle to each other; means for alternately rotating said blade shaft as said drive shaft revolves so that said blade-like members will be caused to assume a predetermined angle during one part of the revolution and a differing angle during another part of the revolution, said latter means comprising: an actuating member hinged at the mid-point of said blade shaft, the axis of said hinge intersecting the intersection of said blade shaft and said power shaft; and means for maintaining said actuating member at an angle which positions the axis of said hinge in a plane oblique to the plane of revolution of said blades.

2. A propelling mechanism for aircraft comprising: a drive shaft; a bearing member secured on the extremity of said drive shaft; bearings carried by said member, the axes of said bearings being in alignment and intersecting the axis of said shaft at 90; a blade shaft mounted in said bearings; a blade-like member carried on each extremity of said blade shaft and extending longitudinally therefrom, each of said blade-like members lying in a plane intersecting the axis of said blade shaft yet at an angle to each other; a bifurcated yoke, the furcations of which are hinged to opposite sides of said blade shaft; and means for swinging said yoke in a vertical plane to impart an alternating rotation to said blade shaft during its revolution with said drive shaft.

3. A combined propelling and lifting mechanism for aircraft comprising: a drive shaft; a bearing member secured on the extremity of said drive shaft; bearings carried by said member, the axes of said bearings being in alignment and intersecting the axis of said drive shaft at 90; a blade shaft mounted in said bearings; a bladelike member carried on each extremity of said blade shaft and extending longitudinally therefrom, said blade-like members being positioned at an angle to each other; hinge members extending oppositely outward from said blade shaft at its mid-point; a bifurcated yoke, the furcations of 3 which engage said'hinge members a fixed bear ing'rotatably supporting. said yoke at an angle to, the projected axis oi! said drive shaft so as. to impart an alternating rotation to said blade shaft during the revolutionof said drive shaft. 5

4. A- combined propelling and lifting mechanism for aircraft comprising: a drive shaft; a bearing member secured on the extremity of'said drive shaft; bearings carried by said member, the axes of said bearings being in alignment and in- 10 tersecting the axis of said drive shaft at 90"; a blade shaft mounted in said bearings; a bladelike member carried on each extremity of said blade shaft and extending longitudinally therefrom; hinge pins extending oppositely outward 15 from said blade shaft at its mid-point; a bifurcated yoke, the furcations of which engage said hinge pins; a fixed bearing rotatably supporting said yoke; a controlling member extending from said fixed bearing; and means for actu- 2 ating said controlling member so as to vary the angle of said fixed bearing with reference to the projected axis of said drive shaft.

5. A combined lifting and propelling device for aircraft comprising: a bearing bracket; a 25 drive shaft secured to, and arranged to rotate, said bearing bracket; oppositely extending blades journalled in said bearing bracket; a frame member connecting said blades; a yoke hinged to the middle of said frame member so as to rotate 30 therewith; a double lever; a stationary member hingedly supporting said double lever within said frame member; a bearing between said lever and said yoke; and means for swinging said double lever so as .to cause said yoke to assume any desired angular position relative to the axis of said shaft.

6. A combined lifting and propelling device for aircraft comprising: a drive shaft; a stub shaft the axes of said two shafts intersecting each 40 other at an angle; a universal joint connecting said two shafts, said universal joint embodying two axes of rotation intersecting each other at the point of intersection of said two shafts; and a pair of blades extending oppositely outward 45 along one of said axes of rotation; and means for varying the intersecting angle as said drive shaft rotates.

'7. A propelling and lifting mechanism for air craft comprising: a drive shaft; a bearing 60 bracket member secured on the extremity of said drive shaft; a blade shaft journaled in said bracket member at right angles to the axis of said drive shaft and extending across and from opposite sides of the latter; a blade rigidly at- 5 tached to said blade shaft at each side of said drive shaft; and means secured to said blade shaft within said bracket member for imparting an alternating rotation to said blade shaft as said drive shaft rotates so that said surfaces will 60 assume different angles of incidence on opposite sides of said drive shaft as it revolves.

8. A propelling and lifting mechanism for aircraft comprising: a drive shaft; a bearing bracket member secured on the extremity of said 65 drive shaft; a blade shaft journaled in said bracket member at right angles to the axis of said drive shaft and extending across and from opposite sides of the latter; a blade rigidly attached to said blade shaft at each side of said 70 drive shaft so as to form a unitary structure therewith, said blades lying in planes substantially at right angles to each other, a yoke secured to said blade shaft within said bracket member; and means for holding said yoke at de- 75 sired angles so that as said'drive shait rotates blades carried on the opposite extremities of said so that said surfaces will assumedifl'erent angles blade shaft; a yoke straddling said blade shaft of incidence on opposite sides of said drive shaft and hinged thereon between the iurcations of as it revolves. said bracket; and means for maintaining said 9. A combined lifting and propelling device yoke at any desired angular position relative to lfor aircraft comprising: a bifurcated bearing the axis of said drive shaft. bracket; a drive shaft for rotating said bearing bracket; a blade shaft journalled in and extend- PAUL M. LEWIS. ing across the furcations of said bearing bracket; FRED LANDGRAF. 

